What then is a B.B cream and what’s the hype all the about? BB means Blemish Balm and is made for acne prone skin. Originally from Korea, it prevents breakouts and minimizes pores.  Now you need not wonder why Koreans have wonderful skin. The B.B cream is their secret. I used to wear tinted moisturizers from Laura Mercier but I think I can now switch to BB creams for the time being.

Maybelline’s version is in liquid foundation form packaged in an easy squeeze tube that is small enough to fit in your purse. The thing about B.B creams is that it contains little or no moisturizer so you need to apply moisturizer which really helps you get an even coverage. Maybelline has more than the usual SPF 15 in its BB cream at SPF 26!

Per package description, Maybelline Clear Smooth Minerals Instant Skin Perfection Cream / B.B. Cream is a perfect blend of 8 mineral ingredients, which comes in an earth color shade that instantly improves and perfects skin.

Some BB creams leave the skin cakey or looking unnatural Maybelline blends well into my natural skin tone. I also like that it does not leave my skin glossy and shimmering as some products do. It also has a brightening and whitening effect on the face and keeps my skin moisturized. Perfect for taking pictures!

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The F900 is the perfect solution for stylish Internet connectivity anywhere.

Samsung’s latest TouchWiz 2.0 user interface gives an unrivalled user experience and includes iconic new features such as motion UI, smart unlock and customizable widget screen.

Samsung’s Dolfin browser is designed to let users surf the net and access websites with ease and speed. Users can view up to five web pages simultaneously and bookmark their favourite websites as widgets on the phone’s homepage. The handset features a built in ad-blocker, multiple downloading, and multi-purpose address field, while Dolfin’s unique one finger zoom enables users to zoom in and out of web pages using only one hand.Other multimedia features include a 5 mega-pixel camera, built-in GPS, DNSe & SRS Sound Effect technology for superior sound quality, and DivX and XviD video support for video downloading and viewing.

Just face it towards sunlight or plug it to your computer using the USB port to power the lithium batteries inside and your ready to charge your gadgets using the adapters included.
 
Tritec Philippines, Inc., the company behind the first and premier solar premier charger brand in the Philippines, now comes with 10 updated adapters for your ultimate gadget compatibility. The new GreenMobile Solar Charger have the same model variants –double panel, clamshell and pop-up– but now have full Nokia compatibility, is iPhone 3G ready and LG compatible.

Just when you thought laptops can’t get any smaller or lighter, here comes Sony Vaio with its recently launched laptop pocket series, the Sony Vaio P25G, incredibly lightweight at 594 grams including battery. It is so small you can carry it in your pocket anywhere and it comes in five delightful eye candy colors namely black, white, red, green and pirate gold.

I saw the Sony Vaio P25G at Avant in Greenbelt and was blown away by how small it is; small enough to fit into a small clutch.It comes with an 8-inch wide LCD screen and isolation keyboard which makes it comfortable for the users for inputting of data without any hassle. Battery lasts up to six hours.

Sony Vaio P25G comes with a 32 bit Windows Vista business Operating System which provides the users with easy GUI interface for running application. The laptop also has Intel atom process Z540 (1.86 GHz) for its processing and has an excellent Processor Bus of 533 MHz and Memory bus of 533 MHz. The installed main memory of Sony Vaio P25G comprises Random Access Memory of 2 GB of type DDR2 for boosting the application speed and a cache memory of 512 MB for high speed access to the recent files.

The other leading features of Sony Vaio P25G consists of Intel graphic accelerator 500 for running high end graphic application, SD memory card slot, 2 slots of USB 2.0, Bluetooth connectivity v2.1, Wireless LAN for wireless internet connectivity, frontal side camera of 640 x 480 pixels for easy video conferencing.

The Sony Vaio P25G retails for Php 74,999.

Photo of Underarm Lightening Kit and Hair Remover

At first I was hesitant to undergo laser hair removal because the word “laser” alone made me feel uncomfortable. Anne, my consultant was very good at explaining the procedure that soon enough I was convinced I have come to the right place.

Last week, I went to my fourth appointment for underarm l laser hair removal at Facial Care Center  at  GT Tower in Makati . My therapist was  happy that the hair growth had become sparse since two months ago when I went for treatment.  Unlike the firs t and second treatment, which is just a month apart, I experienced no discomfort at all. They  now use the Soprano, the latest equipment and clients are satisfied with the results. Who are these clients, by the way? Mostly celebs such as Angel Locsin, Delamar and Amanda Griffin, to name a few, whom I occasionally see when I go for my treatment.

The staff here are very friendly and efficient and would offer you iced tea or coffee the moment you walk in the door. Before you leave, you ask them for a parking stub so you don’t have to pay for parking at the basement area. The coffee table at the receiving area is loaded with stacks of the current issues of magazines, which I browse thru while I wait to be called by the receptionist.

I’ve tried a lot of products that claim to whiten underarm skin but the first step really is to get rid of unwanted hair. Every shaving or waxing procedure contributes to darkening of underarm skin because hair regrowth causes itching and rubbing. When you shave the delicate membranes of your skin suffer abrasions and when they heal the melanin pigment becomes concentrated on the area and becomes darkened. Couple that wearing tight clothes that cause constant friction in the underarm area and you have a recipe for disaster.
At Facial Care Center, they recommend underarm whitening treatments and diamond peel along with laser hair removal. Six sessions of laser treatments are standard but for maximum effect, they tell you to go for two more booster sessions at a discounted price. I got the program along with ___ underarm whitening treatments. Anne was kind enough to throw in two trial treatments of diamond peel.

I had just shaved so I was told to come back three weeks after. Shaving is allowed during the duration of the treatment but there should be no plucking or waxing. Anne further explains that hair grows in three stages — Anagen, Catagen and Telogen.

The perfect stage for treatment is the Anagen phase when hair is grown and is visible above the skin. The hair shaft is attached to the papilla, thus enabling the laser to attack the melanin in the shaft and disable the papilla.

At the Catagen phase, the growth process has reversed itself and the hair is getting ready to shed. It is still possible to treat with laser since a follicle treated in the Catagen stage will still produce another hair.
The Telogen phase is the “resting” stage when the hair is neither developing nor growing. It cannot be treated during this stage, as it usually is not visible above the skin.

The “perfect” time for hair to be permanently destroyed is when it is in the Anagen or growing stage. It can take 6 to 12 weeks for a hair to grow from the matrix, or papilla, to the surface of the skin. Therefore, if you tweeze a hair today, it is generally impossible for you to see the exact same hair in a week. These cycles can vary somewhat from individual to individual.

Laser hair removal is painless, safe and permanent and can be done on any part of the body such as underarms, legs, bikini lines and upper lip. It works better on Asian skin than Caucasians because Asians generally have thicker hair because of the melanin content.

A stewardess friend told me that one of her passengers, a former endorser for FCC ,said that the upper lip is the most painful to treat.  I guess it depends on your pain threshold. Women are known to be more tolerant of pain than men, especially when it comes to beauty procedures.

I experienced no pain whatsoever during the first treatment, just a slight discomfort and a mild sting an hour after. The procedure took all of 15 minutes. A cold gel was applied and two passes of the machine was done on the area. No deodorant, soaps or mild cleanser are allowed 24 hours after treatment. Just plain water to clean the area when I get home. I was also told to avoid any rough sports for at least two days to minimize potential trauma to the skin. Tank tops and sleeveless are recommended.

For my underarm whitening treatment, I was told to come back a week after. This treatment I would highly recommend because it is so effective. It’s a 45 minute treatment that consists of diamond peel and an almond based mask that they leave on for 20 minutes or so. Two sessions after, I saw my underarms have significantly lightened. All the products they use are exclusive to Facial Care. I just wished though that they develop a special kind of deodorant that can really whiten underarm skin. They recommend  Milcu deodorant, a local product. Nivea also because it has moisturizers and is friendlier to the skin. Using tawas is also good but not the coarse kind as it can cause abrasions on the skin. Powder form is good but roll on is better. Last I checked, there is a roll on type at Mercury drugstores.

For maintenance, I use Christina FluorOxygen+C, an underarm lightening kit exclusive to FCC which can also be used on the face. It has a day serum that I apply before I put deodorant in the morning and a night serum and night cream before bedtime. It is infused with Vitamin C and retinol that not only lightens but rejuvenates skin. The almond scrub and mask, which comes in a huge tub, can last for 3-4 months.

Apart from laser hair removal, Facial Care also offers other treatments that are also hugely popular among celebs such as Refirme, which I have tried. More on that in the coming weeks. For inquiries, you may contact Anne Abrio at 0922-8128817 or 0908-8877813 as they have regular promos and buy one take one offers until their anniversary this October 2009.

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